The moment the words "Iron Rank sailing ship" left someone's lips, the entire port fell silent, every pair of eyes fixed on the approaching Stormfall sailing ship.
"Iron Rank?"
"How is that possible!"
For small guilds and adventuring parties on the sea, sailing ships had always been coveted treasures beyond their reach, but for the major powers gathered here, an ordinary sailing ship meant nothing.
Even a Bronze Rank sailing ship would only merit a small ripple of surprise.
After all, for these big shots from every region, obtaining a Bronze Rank sailing ship was only a matter of time. The major maritime powers already had leads and intelligence on Bronze Rank ships. As long as one had the strength and was willing to invest the time and resources, acquiring one wasn't all that difficult.
Otherwise, so many superpowers wouldn't already have Bronze Rank sailing ships in their possession.
But an Iron Rank sailing ship was an entirely different matter.
In the Divine Realm to date, forget an actual Iron Rank sailing ship—even the faintest lead on how to obtain one was nowhere to be found. And while the Iron Rank sailing ship appeared to be merely one tier above the Bronze Rank, the difference in capability between the two was night and day.
Compared to ordinary sailing ships, Bronze Rank sailing ships didn't offer much improvement in defense—their main upgrade was in firepower. But stepping from Bronze Rank to Iron Rank, defense jumped an entire tier. An Iron Rank sailing ship could withstand attacks from Great Lord-level sea beasts without the slightest worry about losing hull durability.
One had to consider that as the seas grew higher in level, Great Lord-level sea beasts became increasingly common. Facing two or three was manageable, but against five or six, even a Bronze Rank sailing ship would start taking damage, making long-term ocean travel difficult, let alone venturing into more dangerous waters.
"Holy crap! It really is an Iron Rank sailing ship!"
"An Iron Rank sailing ship! If our guild had one, we could absolutely lord it over the hundred-level seas."
"That's insane! An Iron Rank sailing ship backing them—who the hell are these people?"
Watching the Stormfall sailing ship draw closer, the assembled major forces were equal parts astonished and curious. They had never imagined that this expedition to Starfall Island would involve not only Heart of the Giant, the newly risen superpower, but also a force commanding an Iron Rank sailing ship.
While everyone murmured among themselves, the Stormfall sailing ship came to a stop at Starfall Island's port.
As Dark Sin Heart and the others disembarked, quite a few players recognized Dark Sin Heart, and the sight immediately set off another wave of commotion.
"Dark Sin Heart? This Iron Rank sailing ship belongs to Eternal Light?"
"Impossible! How could a guild like Eternal Light have an Iron Rank sailing ship? Our guild has thoroughly investigated Eternal Light—they don't even have a single Bronze Rank sailing ship, let alone an Iron Rank one!"
For the various powers cooperating with the Freedom Alliance, most knew who the other cooperating factions were. The higher-ups of these factions had conducted detailed investigations on one another. Eternal Light, which received over ten percent of the Freedom Alliance's resource distribution, had long been a thorn in the side of every other cooperating power, and so had been studied especially thoroughly.
Yet now, staring at the genuine Stormfall sailing ship, they felt their minds going haywire.
"That's not right! Look—there's no Eternal Light guild emblem on that ship!" A player quickly spotted something off. "And the person walking beside Dark Sin Heart looks like Zero Wing's Night Edge!"
At those words, everyone looked more carefully.
"They're right—that person is indeed Zero Wing's Night Edge. I've seen him in the Freedom Alliance competition videos. So this Stormfall sailing ship must belong to Zero Wing."
"Zero Wing really is more formidable than the rumors say—they even have an Iron Rank sailing ship."
"So Eternal Light came prepared this time too!"
"What difference does it make if Eternal Light has Zero Wing's support? Out on the sea, strength is what counts. And Zero Wing is just a quasi-superpower on land—how could they possibly compare to major guilds like ours who've been dominating the seas?"